Okay, I know what you’re thinking. You eat well. You shop at the healthy grocery stores. You know what foods are good for you. So, why is your waistline growing?
With all of the best intentions, amazing goals and knowledge of what’s good for us…why do you mindlessly munch your afternoon or night away?

• Stress
• Lack of connection
• Not feeling enough

Let’s look at stress first. It’s almost a given that our modern lives are stressful. We work many hours, we have tons of responsibilities and we are bombarded with media. There’s also the stress of toxins in our bodies from our food and environments. There’s the unexpected stressors of loss, moves, career shifts and relationships. We live in a stressed out culture, for the most part.

We were taught at a young age that food is a good source of soothing, calming, reassuring, rewarding and relaxing. For many young people, it’s the only thing they can reach for to get some comfort. When I got chicken pox, I remember my mom giving me eggnog as a treat to not scratch the incredible itch. Or when I had a bad day she’d take me for ice cream. I learned that when the going gets tough, the tough go to the fridge.

We reach for that pint in the freezer or that “treat” in the cupboard because we feel stressed and it gives us a bit of temporary relief. Our minds shut off and the binging mindset can take over.

Lack of connection can also result in mindless munching. Just look at how much weight we put on over Covid. That isolation and lack of connection creates a void inside of us. This feeling can produce anxiety, which turns to putting your hand in the chip bag, even when you know it’s not good for you. When we feel connected, seen, heard and accepted we feel full. When we feel full, we don’t binge mindlessly. Period.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a whole tribe of people to feel connected. You don’t even have to see anyone in person. Pick up the phone and call one of your people. I bet you have at least one person that puts a smile on your face. Even if it’s been awhile…reach out. And keep reaching out.

Moving on to not feeling enough: this is one that can be hard for most of us.. Feeling like you’re good  enough seems to be the biggest block most of us have. Anytime we overeat, over drink, over shop or over anything it’s because we don’t feel like we’re good enough. On a deep and hidden, subconscious level we feel undeserving. This is something that we learned in early childhood. No baby is born feeling undeserving. They don’t think that they shouldn’t make a noise or that they don’t deserve attention.

Babies also don’t overeat. They don’t binge. They’ll spit the food out or play with it, but they don’t eat mindlessly to the point where it’s too much. We can go back to feeling enough with a positive mindset, affirmations and hypnosis. I wear a bracelet that says, “You Are Enough” on it as a reminder to myself. I repeat those three words to myself as I fall asleep. I have it on my fridge as a visual reminder when my mindless munching is wanting to kick in.

Mindless eating, binge eating or munching can undo a day of healthy eating. Oftentimes, these binges are in the evening, too close to bedtime. When your conscious minds wind down and you may be feeling stressed, disconnected or not enough it’s easy to mindlessly fall into the munching trap. Understanding this pattern and the reasons behind the behavior, you can change the pattern.

Listen to my guided hypnosis at those key times where you notice your conscious mind tuning out. Give it some positive words and reinforcement.